Passion's Soul
by Taelin Tiger
Summary: Laklyn, a rogue, struggles and copes with the troubles being thrown her way. Er...I suck at summaries xD. This is mostly written from a second person's point of view. Rated T for some content and language.
1. Act One

"_Where's my parents?" A young girl said, slightly whimpering._

_The man bowed his head, hiding his sad expression on his face. "Miss, your mother died giving birth to you, and your father…"_

_"What about my papa?" she whispered._

_He glared at her with a dull gaze. "He left the instant he saw you were a girl."_

Trying on her new garnier, Laklyn's heart tugged on to her as she remembered that conversation. _It was so long ago, _she thought,_ why am I still grieving? _Sighing out loud, she would never forget who she was: a child lost in this dark and menacing world. She laughed at this thought._ Maybe things will brighten up,_ she thought, _Starting a new life here in Victoria Island was an brilliant idea._ Buying a couple sets of subis with most of her money, Laklyn set off to train using her new rogue abilities.

After training for what seemed like hours, she stopped for a break in Perion. All around her, she saw new and experienced warriors of all ages make their way up to the tent of Dances with Balrogs. _Only the brave and courageous become warriors,_ she thought absently. Her eyes became slightly wet as Laklyn thought of her dear friend.

**Flashback**

Devavio reached over for Laklyn's hand and started stroking it. They both lay on the ground, gazing up at the starry night. He crept closer and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Unexpectedly, Devavio stood up, guiding Laklyn up too. He drew closer to her, one hand touching her cheek slightly, the other reaching deep within his pocket. Out came his hand, with a shinning necklace weaved around his fingers. Gently, Devavio unhooked the necklace and slowly slid the necklace onto Laklyn's neck.

His breath tingled her ear as he whispered. "Now you will have something to remember me by, always." She started to giggle when he tickled her bare feet.

A few months pasted, but Laklyn would never forget the necklace Devavio gave her. _The maple leaf is the symbol of hope,_ Devavio had said after, _A sign of MapleStory, and it's hopes and dreams._ Suddenly, her communicator began ringing and interrupted her train of thought.

"Is this Laklyn?" a voice said, slightly static.

"Yes," she said, slightly surprised and appalled by the time; it was in the middle of the night. "Who is this?"

"This is the Maple Island General Hospital calling," the voice replied, "Your friend, Devavio, is in the ICU ward, currently on life support. He asks for your presence." It contained no traces of sympathy at all.

Without answering, Laklyn grabbed her stuff off the floor and dashed towards the hospital, tears running freely, trickling down her cheeks. The building grew larger, and before she knew it, she was at the front door. The cleric at the counter directed her to the ICU room and Laklyn sprinted at the speed of light; nothing could prevent her from seeing her best friend.

Devavio's room was at the end of the hall, all isolated and lonely. All the priests and clerics walked around with a plain expression; perhaps they were immune to sadness or lost because they had seen so many cases before. Nonetheless, Laklyn hurried down the hall and quietly opened the door, after explaining to the priest who she was.

A gasp escaped from her lips as she saw her friend with an oxygen mask and a heart monitor beside him. The signals came irregularly, and Devavio's breathing was shallow. She immediately flopped down beside him, grabbing his hand softly. Devavio stirred from his dreams and opened his eyes. They seemed to smile as he set eyes on Laklyn.

"Laklyn," Devavio whispered, hiccupping slightly, "You made it…"

"Devavio!" she sobbed, not caring who was watching them.

He concentrated all his strength on his right hand and wiped away her tears. He smiled a faint smile, leaving Laklyn feeling confused.

"Laklyn," he whispered, "Only the brave and courageous become warriors. I have failed on both." Suddenly, he began coughing and the cleric shooed her out.

**End of Flashback**

_Devavio,_ Laklyn thought, _You are brave and courageous. You can be a warrior. A warrior of the heavens._ She said a small prayer, and headed to the potion shop to restock on stars and potions. After giving a couple thousand mesos to the cashier, she headed to a local inn, resting for the night.

As time went by, she slowly arrived to the dense forest of Ellina. _So tranquil, _Laklyn thought,_ brushing away some branches. The morning birds sung their beautiful song as the sun crept its way from the horizon. Good morning, Devavio, _she thought,_ Good morning, world._ From what she heard from the innkeeper, the best place for her to train was the infamous slime tree. He had given her a map showing the path to the tree. Glancing at it, Laklyn found the tree in no time.

Standing at the entrance of the tree, she gazed up at the massive height of the tree. _No wonder Ellina is the town of magic, they even have huge trees,_ she thought. Preoccupied in her own thoughts, Laklyn did not notice a green mushroom hopping happily towards her. It began attacking and knocking her over. Laklyn tried fighting back, but as a new rouge, she did not have the power to kill the mushroom. She cried out in pain as the mushroom bit her leg. Suddenly, the mushroom knocked her over the hedge, and she began falling…

_Laklyn! a voice said._

_Devavio? she replied._

_Don't give up, my love, he said, Please, wake up…_

_Wake up? she wondered out loud, What do you mean, Devavio?_

_Please wake up, he said, tears running down his cheeks, Please wake up, I don't want to die…_

_He grew fainter, as if speaking from a distance._

_Devavio!_

An assassin wandered the dense forest of Ellina, searching for the point of life. _What is the point of life if you have nothing to live for?_ he thought. He ruffled his blonde hair in confusion. _I always thought power was everything,_ he thought, _Now I have power. Why am I still not satisfied?_ He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a cry of pain.

Hasting himself, he tried to find out where the distressed person was. Suddenly, he had caught a young girl in his arms. The poor child was scarred and bruised, and he did not like the look of the bite on her right leg. The wound was wide open for any infections, and the poison from the mushroom form pus around the wound. Cursing, he reached in his pocket for a crumpled scroll, and whispered an ancient incantation. In a blink of an eye, they arrived at Heneseys.

Laklyn woke up with a start, wincing but ignoring the pain that shot all across her body. _Where am I?_ she thought. Looking out the window, she found herself looking at the peaceful town of Heneseys. Suddenly, the knob on the door began to turn. She sat there, petrified by who it might be.

An assassin walked into her room, brushing away his spiky blonde hair from his face. He looked at her curiously, and then began to speak.

"Hello," he said, voice coarse, "I saw you unconscious, so I decided to take you to my house until you became fully healed. The monster you were fighting probably bit you in the right leg, am I correct?"

She nodded, still staring emotionlessly at him.

"My name is Mavifour," he said, "What's yours?"

"Lak…Laklyn," she stuttered, looking down.

"Well, nice to meet you, Laklyn," Mavifour said, "It looks like you need some training. How about I train you when you become all better?"

"Sure…" Laklyn continued to be afraid.

"Then it is settled," he said, his gaze unwavering, "I just have some rules, apprentice."

"Yes?" 

"I will be addressed as sir or master at all times," Mavifour said, "And if you disobey me, you shall receive a beating from my red whip. That is the least serve of the punishments."

"Yes sir." Laklyn looked at Mavifour with distrust.

"For now," he said, tone softening, "Rest."


	2. Act Two

**A Dream of Despair**

_Laklyn sat on a snowy bench, the fluffy snow tickling her cheek. She giggled as the coldness turned her cheeks rosy red, numbing her senses. The scene was tranquil as she stared into the endless flow of white of the fields of El Nath. Sighing, she packed all her stuff, and headed into the winter galore, shattering the pure scene with her footprints._

_Feeling a gentle tap on her shoulder, Laklyn slowly spun around, her black hair whipping her with such force that she almost winced in pain. Her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as she saw what stood before her. A hood covered the figure's head, concealing its face. It slowly motioned for her to follow, but Laklyn stood her ground. Shaking its head, the hood fell, and Devavio's face appeared in sight. He grabbed out a fruit dagger from his pocket and stabbed her twice in the stomach._

_She looked up at him in confusion, wondering if this was the Devavio she had known for many years. Falling back, she closed her eyes in pain then opened them again. He was gone…_

A familiar pain shot through her body as Laklyn bolted up from her bed. She briefly glanced up at the angered face of Mavifour and began making her way out the door.

"You are late for your training," he hissed.

She bowed her head, loathing his very presence. "I am sorry, master. I will not let this happen again." Laklyn knew better than to talk back.

"Very well," he said with distaste, "Breakfast is on the table; meet me outside the house to start your training today." Mavifour turned around without a glance and headed out the door. A slam sounded through the house as he left the house.

Cursing, Laklyn weaved her way through the messy house, slightly scraping her arm on a scrap of steel. _God dammit!_ she swore silently in her head. Glancing forward, she found a single piece of over-cooked bacon on the pan. Ignoring the quality of the food, she munched it up, knowing there was harsh training out ahead, and food was not going to be provided. 

Laklyn chewed on the bacon, trying to make it okay to swallow. After five minutes, she gave up and spat the bacon into the garbage can. She packed all her training equipment and potions into the rag cloth bag Mavifour had provided her and headed out the door. An annoyed Mavifour was there, waiting for her impatiently.

"About time you got out," Mavifour said, "Time to train on orange mushrooms." Laklyn's eyes widened with surprise. "Here's a Kerning town scroll."

He sighed and produced a town scroll. Whispering an incantation, they both appeared in the ghetto city of Kerning. They started to make their way to the orange mushrooms. 

**Later that day**

"You call that a lucky seven?!" Mavifour hollered, "Even a beginner can throw better than you." He sighed and looked away. "What in Orbis was that?"

"I am sorry master," Laklyn said obediently, "I know I have done wrong. If you give me the chance, I will correct my mistakes."

Unexpectedly, Mavifour grabbed out his red whip and slashed her across the cheek. "You dare?" he said, voice quavering dangerously.

She looked up at him, anger flashing across her eyes as she closed her hand on her cheek. "You treat me like crap, Mavifour." She had stepped over the invisible line, but nothing could stop her from saying the words that had been bottled up for years. "All you do is taunt me, and weaken my spirit. What have I ever done to you?"

"You dare speak to me in such a tone?!" he yelled back. Another sharp pain shot through her body. This time, she showed no emotion. _Emotions show your weak side,_ Laklyn thought.

"I just did," she said, and ran away, as far away from him as possible.

With tears streaming down her face, she clutched her steel titans tightly and never stopped running. Feeling angered, Laklyn flung a few mokis at some red snails, their dying cry piercing the peaceful hum in the night air. Years of rage and frustration overcame her, leaving her to kill numerous monsters blindly, not caring what she hit. Many cries of sorrow shattered the peaceful environment, leaving blood stains on the grassy ground of Ellina.

Snapping out of her trance, Laklyn sat down on a bench, panting because her magic was completely drained. Sobbing slightly, she grabbed out a white bottle and poured some of its contents onto her cheek. Wincing a bit, she wiped her cheek gently and put the bottle away. A tear rolled down her cheek. 

**Flashback**

Laklyn was surrounded by red snails, unable to get out of this predicament. Wincing in pain, she tried to escape their clutches, yet they continued to attack her, weakening her health. The stabs from the silly sword gripped in her hand would do no harm to them. _Is this truly the end of me?_ she thought. Suddenly, she spotted Devavio in the distance.

"Devavio!" Laklyn yelled softly.

Spinning his head, his eyes widened at the massive crowd around her. With one swing from his battle axe, the snails were obliterated. Grinning slightly, he reached for Laklyn and pulled her up.

"If you need any help," he said, "Just call me over, Laklyn." Devavio handed her a white potion.

"Devavio!" she exclaimed, "I don't need this though."

"Keep it," he said, "you'll need it later."

**End of Flashback**

_Devavio, where are you when I need you the most?_ Laklyn thought, _You were like my brother, where does your soul rest now?_

_I might not be seen, Laklyn,_ he replied, _But I am always here for you, deep within your soul._

Wiping away the tears the shimmered across her face, Laklyn grabbed her backpack from the bench, and to her surprise, a warrior stood in front of her. His shiny armor reflected the moon's rays and shorn onto his face, which was all scarred and mutated. What scared her the most was his expression.

"Going somewhere, beautiful?" he said, the foul smell of alcohol stinging her nostrils.

"Who are you?" she said, slowly backing away.

"Someone you're going to be spending the night with," he said, a coy smile playing on his face.

"Get away from me!" Laklyn realized what he wanted, frantically looking for a way out.

The warrior tried getting closer to her, but Laklyn used her quick reflexes to bounce out of the way. Sighing angrily, the warrior tried to chase after her, and came close to succeeding until an unknown shape appeared out of nowhere.

"Leave her alone!" the voice shouted, full of authority, "Stop trying to hit on innocent girls." The warrior was left unconscious, with an arrow through his shoulder.

The figure turned to Laklyn. "Hi, my name is Jactous."


End file.
